In our first few weeks of class, we read about one man's struggles to succeed in spite of a challenging academic past. We have also started reading Jonathan Kozol's description of the inequities present in many American public schools, especially for minority children. Given these descriptions, it is natural to ask about the conditions inside schools here in Rhode Island. For this assignment, we will investigate local schools, their districts, and their surrounding community to try to understand the conditions in public schools closer to home. We will base our conclusions on facts that we can gather from various sources. To understand what might be happening "behind the scenes" within a school or district, we will need to formulate questions and seek out evidence that helps answer those questions. To be successful, you must examine relevant social, political, and institutional factors, understand how factors relate and decide they interact to influence the nature of education in our schools. In the spirit of Kozol's work, our guiding question for our investigative work will be:
We have been writing papers about school systems, aka "Context Reports," here on URITK for three years before this year. Here are some suggested courses, questions and previous reports that you may use to help in your research.
On the Web
These websites feature data collected about the area's communities, districts, and schools:
You are required to include citations in APA format for the information that you decide to include in your report. You should use Zotero to collect and post all citations!
Assignment
In our first few weeks of class, we read about one man's struggles to succeed in spite of a challenging academic past. We have also started reading Jonathan Kozol's description of the inequities present in many American public schools, especially for minority children. Given these descriptions, it is natural to ask about the conditions inside schools here in Rhode Island. For this assignment, we will investigate local schools, their districts, and their surrounding community to try to understand the conditions in public schools closer to home. We will base our conclusions on facts that we can gather from various sources. To understand what might be happening "behind the scenes" within a school or district, we will need to formulate questions and seek out evidence that helps answer those questions. To be successful, you must examine relevant social, political, and institutional factors, understand how factors relate and decide they interact to influence the nature of education in our schools. In the spirit of Kozol's work, our guiding question for our investigative work will be:What is our driving question?
The assignment is described in more detail here: Context Report Assignment
Project Organization
Individual Contributions
Useful Resources
We have been writing papers about school systems, aka "Context Reports," here on URITK for three years before this year. Here are some suggested courses, questions and previous reports that you may use to help in your research.On the Web
These websites feature data collected about the area's communities, districts, and schools:Last Year's Work
Context Reports from Previous Years
The context reports from 2007, 2008, and 2009 are still here. Please use them as references!Questions and Resources Located by Students in Previous Classes
In previous years, we worked together to brainstorm questions and assemble resources for each section of the context report.Step 1: Research and Describe School Communities
A. Community Data and Descriptions
B. District Data
Step 2: Draft Shared Portions of the Context Report: District and Community Descriptions
Step 3: Research Schools
Step 4: Draft School Descriptions
Step 5: Prepare Context Reports for Publishing
You are required to include citations in APA format for the information that you decide to include in your report. You should use Zotero to collect and post all citations!